


Discovering you

by Aliasprick



Series: When Ash is 25 [3]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:55:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23790436
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aliasprick/pseuds/Aliasprick
Summary: Sequel to Discovering Mewtwo.A fluff drabble of Gou's journey  of getting his memory back.
Relationships: Gou/Satoshi | Ash Ketchum
Series: When Ash is 25 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1733797
Comments: 2
Kudos: 44
Collections: Late Start





	Discovering you

Four months had passed since Gou first got up with an empty identity. Ash, his roommate and apparently a fellow researcher, had shown him all the pokemons he had caught and his best friend among them all was Cinderace. He could understand why he would choose Cinderace as his buddy, seeing how cool it is with its flashy movesets.

"I must have thought I can win in battles with these pokemons", he smiled when he saw them. 

"Well, to a certain extend", Ash said but Gou didn't understand what he meant. 

"But why was I collecting all of these? It's a pity that they're all staying in a glasshouse. The outside is better for them", he mumbled to himself. 

"They're here for a reason", Ash said. 

After that, Gou had given up on wondering why they were there and brushed it off as for research purposes. Then he tried another method from the TV, hoping that by analyzing anything he could find, he could remember back at least some things. 

He also read about people who lose their memory suddenly had them returned from just interacting with familiar objects and so he decided to give it a shot. 

He'd asked Koharu and Ash to provide him with something he might have owned from his childhood. Yet none of those had bore a result no matter how much he stared at them and groped them with his hand. 

"I'm done molesting these possessions of previous Gou", he moaned one day after putting down an old leaflet of Oak's camp poster. 

"Well, you don't have to do it or force yourself to do it", Koharu said. "Take your time", she and Ash both agreed to that and let him figure out the whole memory thing slowly. 

It was frustrating to forget who you were. Even when his parents came over, he didn't recognize them and he felt sorry for Ash when his supposed father and mother came all the way to Sakuragi's Institute all angry at Ash for letting this incident happen. 

Ash didn't deny his fault and took all the blame. He bowed to them and asked them to be patient. He promised to fix the situation and despite his parents' initial angry reaction, they managed to cool down and tried to understand him. 

"I guess you're more devastated than we are", his father said. 

"I'm sorry for the whole thing", said Ash. 

"I guess, things happened", his mother sighed. 

"I'll fix this", said Ash. 

"It'll come back. Gou never forget, even the silliest things. I'm sure he'll be fine", said his father and despite giving him a worried look, managed to get his emotion under control. 

When his parents left and when it was just the two of them in their bedroom, Gou asked curiously.

"Why were you apologizing back there? None of these were your fault". 

"I broke their trust. That's why I'm apologizing", Ash said, lying down on his side of the bed. 

"Trust?" 

Ash didn't reply but instead wished him a goodnight. Okay… Ash was totally avoiding the whole question. For whatever the reason was, Ash didn't seem to want to talk about this 'trust' subject but it sounded important. 

Instead of worrying about Ash, Gou faced the other side and covered himself with a blanket. Cinderace was curled on the sofa bed and Pikachu nestled in between them like always. 

"It does feel empty. I wish I knew why", Gou whispered exasperatedly to himself before going to sleep. 

Then one evening, a familiar aroma filled the air all the way to the front door. After spending the whole day grooming his pokemons, he was feeling starved and without thinking, he followed his nose to the kitchen. 

There was nobody there in it but a brown paper bag on the dining table attracted his attention. He went towards it and peeked into it. There was a batch of scones, two dozens of them. They smelled delicious and he took one and popped it into his mouth. The taste was amazing and he felt like he was on a cloud nine. 

Subconsciously, he said, 

"Hey Scorbunny, do you want some of these? Galar scones are really the best". 

It took him a few minutes to process what he had just said. Then an image of a dirty looking Scorbunny and his three Nickits friends flashed in his mind. 

"The world is big. You should explore it!" that was the words he said to it and Scorbunny had followed him since then. 

Cinderace was that Scorbunny. 

"Cinderace wasn't with me because I chose it…" he realized. "My buddy was the one who chose me... " 

He frantically searched for Cinderace, in the living room, in the garden and in the lab but it wasn't there. 

His loud footsteps attracted Ash's attention who was busy struggling with paperwork. When he heard Gou's calls searching for Cinderace, he left his paperwork to see what was wrong. 

Gou found Cinderace sitting in the game room, watchfully observing Pikachu playing with Dragonite. 

When Gou just glomped it, Cinderace felt air knocked out from its lungs. 

"Cinder?" 

"Scorbunny! No… Cinderace! You've grown so big and I missed you a lot!" said Gou, his face buried in Cinderace's fur. 

"You were so small and dirty but you looked better everyday. You were so cute and so cool now! I can't forgive myself for forgetting you! I wuv you!" 

Then the crying between the pokemon and its trainer started. Ash watched the warm scene from the door's gap. He was glad that some part of Gou's memory came back eventhough it didn't include him. 

He just wished there would be more of him. 

\-----

"Hey, Ash", Gou said one morning after having his memory of Cinderace returned. 

"What's up?" the other asked with his mouth filled with bread and soup. 

"Why do you eat like that?" Gou asked. 

"Because it tastes better like this. Why don't you give it a try?" Ash said. 

Gou put the bread together with the soup and chugged it down. He had to agree, this tasted good. 

"So, what do you think?" Ash asked, leaning forward into his personal space. 

Gou's ears turned red at the sudden close proximity. "O-okay, I guess" he answered quickly. 

"Hmm… Really?" the Kanto lad snickered. Gou easily turned red and at least, that never changed. 

Sometimes, there are things that even a loss of memory cannot change. 

Ash was glad that Gou is still the same Gou that he knew. 

\------

Gou and Ash were strolling down the park one day, walking Boltund because Koharu was out cold from her assignments the night before. It was six months and calculating for Ash and Gou was just sticking with the take your time plan. Ash being the chilling guy he was just patiently waited for something to happen. 

While they were walking, Gou started to ask about Ash previous adventures and the number of trophies he had collected during his younger days to the point he became a pokemon master. . 

Ash also told him the number of female companions he had along the way and earned a whistle from the other. 

"So like, did you date any of them?" Gou asked. 

"I went for an outing with them if you considered that kind of thing as a date", Ash said. 

"Ehhh… I think they all liked you at some point. You should've picked one of them and you know, build a permanent relationship with them". 

"Don't want to", Ash rejected the idea and Boltund barked in agreement. 

"What? I think you should start noticing at least one of them!" Gou said. 

"Well, you're not wrong. I did notice one of them", said Ash with a wink. 

"Which one?" he got Gou to be curious about it the whole day after that to the point that he was trying to get Pikachu to confess about it. Pikachu just looked at him with wary eyes, not wanting to be involved with whatever Gou and Ash's relationship thingy. Plus, it didn't like to spoil it for others or it wouldn't be fun to watch the raw reaction when the time came. 

Little did Gou know that Ash was talking about him. 

\------

"Hey Ash", said Gou one night. 

"Yes?" Ash asked sleepily, having been awakened by Gou at 3 am. 

"Can I sleep a bit closer?" the other asked. 

"Yeah… don't mind it at all", Ash, still half asleep responded. 

Gou inched closer and fell right back to sleep. 

\------

The next day, Ash couldn't help but smiled when he rose to the morning light. 

In his arm, Gou was very much nuzzling his chest in his sleep. 

"It's been so long", and he pretended to sleep when the other was stirring to wake up. 

He laughed silently when Gou woke up, all flustered and scrambling to get up when he found himself in a compromising position. 

\------

"Why are you so quiet today? What' s wrong?" asked Ash to Gou when he saw Gou playing with his food. The moment he was asked that, Gou felt his cheeks warmed. 

"I- I dunno! I just…. Ah, don't feel so good about…about my stomach", Gou said, trying to find an excuse for his loss of appetite. 

"That's very concerning, Gou. Do you want to go see the doctor?" asked Koharu as she put down Boltund's breakfast. Boltund barked around Koharu when she placed the food down. 

"No! No! I'm okay! Don't worry about me!" denied Gou furiously. 

Ash just watched him knowingly. 

\--------

Koharu and Gou walked alongside of each other as they headed into town to buy grocery and when they stopped in front of a boutique, Gou tugged her wrist and stared at her face. 

"Um, what are you doing? You're making me embarrassed", she said with a light blush on her face. 

"I'm trying to figure out…. Something… I can' t feel it with you". 

"Somehow I feel used", Koharu deadpanned. 

"Sorry, my bad", said Gou apologetically. 

"What's this about? Were you bothered by something?" 

"... Promise not to tell anybody!" Gou said, his voice becoming high pitched. 

"Okay…" Koharu looked at him suspiciously but promised anyway. 

"I… Something about me is not right! I think my brain has gone 404 and cannot be found", he said. 

"I'm sorry, what's that again?" 

"I mean, I've gone bonkers!!" 

"When did you never?" Koharu asked monotonously. 

"Seriously? I always did? NO, I GOT DISTRACTED! Hear me out, Koharu!" he whined pitifully. 

"At least this part of you never changed . Yes sir, what's bothering you?" 

"You see…. I've done something sinful!" said Gou. Koharu likened her situation to a priest listening to confession. 

"What sin have you done, oh, child of Arceus", she said jokingly. 

"You see, there's been a few times when I would wake up sleeping in Ash's embrace! It's been happening much more often lately and I don't know how to stop it!" 

"Is that so? I thought it was something important", Koharu sighed. 

"Huh? Why aren't you surprised?" he asked in bewilderment. Koharu grabbed both of his shoulders and stared at him darkly. 

"I've seen worse in my darker days", she said with shadows on her face. Then she released him with a small smack on his back. 

"Don't worry too much about it. It'll be okay", she said and they continued their walk to the grocery store. 

\------

"Have I seen you before?" Gou asked Ash after 8 months when he was brooming the area where his pokemons loved to play together. 

"Why are you asking?" asked Ash. 

Gou didn't reply but quick to change location to another area, leaving Ash alone behind. 

"I can't tell him how I feel like his face angles in the way that feels nostalgic", he thought to himself. 

\------

They were in the meadow where the population of Kanto's bug pokemon was at most dense. There was a tree that stood with all its glorious petals in the middle of it, all in full bloom. 

"What a big cherry blossom tree. And look, there's a butterfree above it", Gou pointed at the insect pokemon sitting at the highest point of the tree. 

"Do you want to try coming closer to it?" asked Ash. 

"Hmm… Not a bad idea", said Gou, rubbing his chin. 

Ash bend his knees lower and put his palm out. "Alright, I'll give you a lift", he said. 

Gou nodded and got into a running distance. The wind blew gently and Pidgy, Pidgeotto and Pidgeot flock flew above them, spanning the blue sky. 

Gou bounced a little on his toes and then started to sprint but as he ran, a series of episodes where Ash was trapped between stone edge flashed through his mind. Then he remembered the first day of their meeting on the back of Lugia and all their adventures together after that. 

The more he remembered the slower his pace became. And when the memory of their confession on the back of Lugia and all the moments as a couple they had after it returned and made him feel like it was only yesterday, he came to a halt and stared at Ash with teary eyes. 

"Gou, aren't you going… Oh…" Ash stopped asking when he saw Gou's tear running down his cheeks. The other sniffled and his lips trembled - Ash blinked at this in confusion. 

"What's going on?" Ash asked, walking up to Gou to check on him. 

"Don't come near me!" Gou shouted.

"H-Hey…"

"I don't deserve you! I was a stupid jerk! I left you behind! You shouldn't be in love with me!" 

At that moment, when Gou was too busy unloading his self blame, Ash tilted down his hat and approached him. When Gou was within reach, he pulled the other into his embrace. 

"I was stupid! Let me go! You should just break up with a jerk like me!" 

But Ash only tightened his hug. 

He didn't let go no matter how much Gou struggled to break free.

Gou felt Ash's trembling and he went completely still. Was Ash angry with him? For all that he had done, putting himself in such danger and selfishly leaving everyone behind, he wouldn't be surprised if the other just up and left. 

Then, he felt something warm trickling on his neck. 

"I'm glad that you're back", Ash said in such a low voice, his breath shuddering. 

"Ash…" 

"I love you so much that it hurts just watching you wandering the world without a memory of us", Ash added. 

"Forgive me please", Gou crumpled Ash's jacket. His own tears was flowing in his regret. 

"At this moment, I'm just happy that you're back. Don't ever leave me". 

The two, in the middle of the meadow, stayed in each other's arms until it was time to go home. 

\--------

They were both back together, all sweaty from a very, very strenuous bed activity. Gou was hugging his pillow while looking at Ash, who was lying on his side facing Gou and holding his stare like he couldn't get enough of him. 

"Stop that! You're looking at me too much", scolded Gou, avoiding the stares deliberately . 

"Is this too much for you? We'd done much more than just staring, you know", Ash teased playfully. 

"Stupid", Gou retorted, feeling a blush creeping up his cheeks. He hid his face with the pillow but was quickly snatched by Ash. 

"Oh, stop being like this!" Gou argued heatedly. 

And then he was pulled in for a light peck. 

"I've been all over the world with you. I've been travelling and meeting with so many people but none was the same as when I'm with you", said Ash. 

"Stop!!! This feels very tight!" Gou puts a hand up to stop Ash. 

"Hmm… What do you mean?" 

"I can't! I feel a knot in my stomach!" 

"..." 

Gou buried his face in Ash's broad chest. 

"Gou, look at me", Ash said, trying to get Gou to look up but Gou refused. 

Instead, he heard a soft whimper of, "I love you". Gou's face was so red that it looked like he was about to explode. 

Ash chuckled and pulled the blanket over them. "Alright, you can stay hidden as much as you want but I heard you just now". 

He only heard Gou muffled insult of "Stupid". 


End file.
